The league: "Of course we understand the players' frustration and disappointment"

Recently, the IIHF announced that the JVM for girls, which was supposed to be played between 8-15 January, is canceled due to the corona pandemic.

The hockey world has been critical of the decision and the Swedish junior national team has chosen to write an open letter to the international federation.

Johan Stark, Secretary General of SIF, explains that the decision came quickly.

- We were not prepared for that.

On December 22, we heard that the Medical Council would have a meeting that evening on the subject.

It was in the same vein that we ourselves sat and thought about our own restrictions in Sweden, where there was a saying that they would not implement cups and camps.

- We have not received more information than that there were six different championships to be held in January that were canceled.

For us as organizers, it was a blow.

For us, it was direct to practically handle this information.

It has gone so incredibly fast.

We do not have all the information we need right now.

It has almost been crisis management.

To practically handle and get information to those concerned, then came the Christmas weekend as well.

We have simply not come any further.

"We understand the players' frustration and disappointment"

There have been reactions from the Swedish junior national team in the form of an open letter?

- It is clear that we understand the players' frustration and disappointment, it is just as great with us.

We were ready to start with the test device.

It is special to arrange the championship with resources and everything.

What we have received is that the escalating spread of infection needs to be stopped.

- I can also understand somewhere that you (the girls 'junior national team) want to make the connection to the boys' JVM.

There, the motivation (from IIHF) in writing has been that the championship is already underway when the team is in place.

But the boys's end on January 6, while the girls's were supposed to start on January 8?

- Now those questions should be asked to the IIHF.

It's going to be weird if I'm held accountable.

We do not know ourselves how the decision was made.

We are now sitting with booked hotels, food and everything.

For us, it has been to take care of this purely organizationally.

"A bang"

Have you been in contact with the Swedish junior national team and team leaders?

- Anders Lundberg who is our national team manager has been in contact with everyone, of course.

They got the information first.

- The next step for us when this has settled down a bit is to check what we can do for these players and this cohort and see what they need for their development.

Will SIF want to pursue the issue of having a championship anyway in 2022?

- I can not answer that right now.

What is it today, the second day of Christmas?

People need to take a breath right now.

Answers have been required to the right and left of something where we ourselves do not really know what happened and what we should relate to.

- This is a blow to the development work, but I can not give those answers now.

At present, we do not even know what our cost coverage looks like for this and what effects it will have either.

Above all, it must be in a dialogue with the IIHF, it is their championship and somewhere they have to make a decision.

I also want to be clear about not pointing a finger.

We have enormous respect for the pandemic and that decisions are made to reduce the spread of infection.

SVT Sport has applied for IIHF and Anders Larsson, who sits on IIHF's board.